This is what the Leslie Spit is made of … clean fill from demolition waste. The manmade spit is still being extended and allowed to grow in naturally. It’s a bird sanctuary, marsh habitat, home to many animals, and an all-around good idea.

Be aware, so you don’t get caught out. We saw several cars sail through the new stop signs, especially cars travelling from east to west. One was a police cruiser. The new sign for east-bound drivers is particularly hard to spot.

The words ROLPH CLARK STONE are legible on these Carlaw Avenue bricks.

Originally, the word palimpsest referred to manuscripts on recycled parchment, where traces of scraped-off writings show through newer text. It has come to mean any trace left behind after an original surface has been erased or removed.

Pedantic, I know … but once you have the word, you see palimpsests that you never noticed before.

I knew I was in the right place when I looked through the lobby glass and saw a striking piece of sculpture that could only be the work of one man … Gord Smith.

Gord Smith’s “constudio” is crammed with delights … a lifetime of art.

A 3-hour visit this afternoon passed like 30 minutes. There will have to be more visits, more conversations, because we hardly scratched the surface of all there is to discuss.

Gord is one of Canada’s major professional sculptors, now approaching 80 years of age and showing no signs of slowing down creatively. He works on a large scale, often in welded metal (laser-cut these days) but also in the medium of glued wooden dowels … as far as I know, a medium that is uniquely his. Certainly his way of handling them is unique.

The aesthetic and philosophical principles expressed by Smith’s works are deeply felt, relating to universal laws of nature. I will return to the subject, you can be sure … a bit at a time.

Carlaw Avenue has become a fascinating creative zone, filled with wonders and imaginative people. A few floors above the sidewalk, in the middle of a former garment factory, Gord Smith continues his remarkable career. He also makes a good cup of coffee and has excellent doughnuts.